Republic School District Twice Suspended Special Ed Girl Who Was Raped

​The unnamed girl was a special ed student at a middle school in Greene County, Missouri when she first began to encounter problems. During the 2008-2009 school year, she told administrators that she'd been harassed, sexually assaulted and raped by a male student...

But for reasons unknown, administrators thought she was making the stories up. They also told her mother that the girl had recanted her stories.

So the school made her write an apology letter to her rapist and never reported the incident to police, in violation of Missouri law. Then she was expelled for the remainder of the year for making a false report.

The girl returned to Republic School District the following year. Her mother asked school officials to protect her from the rapist, but the school said no.

That's when the harassment began again. But this time she never told anyone, believing administrators wouldn't believe her anyway.

In February of 2010, she says the boy dragged her to a secluded area of the school library and raped her again. This time, the girl's mother got a rape examination done on her daughter. It not only proved that she'd been raped; DNA evidence matched the boy's.

The kid ended up pleading guilty in juvenile court. But school officials still behaved like assholes. Instead of helping the girl, they decided to suspend her again, this time for "disrespectful conduct" and "public display of
affection."

Yet it seems school officials will finally pay for their callousness. The girl and her mother, who are only identified by their initials, have filed suit against the district, Superintendent Vern Minor, middle school Principal Patricia
Mithelavage, counselor Joni Ragain, and school resource officer Robert
Duncan.

If the district has any remorse over its behavior, however, it's not showing it. The district has countered by calling the suit frivolous. It's essentially arguing that the special ed girl was responsible for her own safety.

Lawyers
Celynda Brasher and Michelle Basi, who no doubt got their degrees from the Mephistopheles School of Evil, write that "the
girl failed and neglected to use reasonable means to protect her self," and that her rape was the product of "negligence, carelessness, or conduct of third parties over
whom the District Defendants had neither control nor the right to
control."

In other words, the district is claiming it was powerless to help a 7th grade girl on school grounds, nor could it stop a little prick from raping her in a school library.

I had a similiar situation. My son reported for two years that he and other white kids were being targeted for daily threats and assaults by african american kids in his elementary school. We had monthly meetings with staff over these two years until they sent home a letter saying my son could not go to some of his classes and he could only use the nurse's restroom. We lost our chance at federal investigation of civil rights claim by waiting for the State atty general office investigation which took 7 months. Atty Gen did not tell us they would represent the school if legal action was taken. Schools don't want any negative press and will punish victims to make crimes go away. We are now refugees in another state and we know of at least one other family that left the same school district over the violence in the same classroom.

Explains why our schools are such a mess! It's run by amoral idiots and sanctioned by low life resource officers!! Hope the girl bankrupts that school district for hiring trash to run the place. And to the school board maybe you should hire based on skill and not on politics and popularity contests.........................

This is a Special Ed child and as for her "Not Protecting Herself"? She reported it and was called a liar and being a Special Ed child she is already behind the 8 ball so to speak and NOW they are trying to place the blame on her AGAIN. Now I know that in a small town there are no choices for schools and why they sent her back to that school is mind boggling but the school did NOTHING to protect this child period and someone needs to go to jail. This is just nuts damn it. So please everyone sign the patiton at http://www.thepetitionsite.com... demanding her justice and then pass this story to all you know so we can get the story out there. Again thank you all for passing this along.

"In other words, the district is claiming it was powerless to help a 7th grade girl on school grounds, nor could it stop a little prick from raping her in a school library. " -Heck they couldn't stop him from doing it twice, once they'd been warned about him. They suck, they should go to jail for criminal negligence. If I failed to protect my daughter from someone she claimed was abusing her, I would go to jail . While children are in school, the school is supposed to act in loco parentis, meaning, they should be held to the same standards parents are when it comes to the safety of our children.

This wouldnt have even gotten to this stage if that were my daughter. After the first time it happened and she was called a liar and suspended i would have been waiting for the little bastard rapist outside of the school to discuss it further, id bring a bat with me too just to get my point across.

At settlement time, I would demand that all school officials involves in this fuckery (and fuckery is what it was, people) be unable to ever work with children again anywhere in the United States. There also needs to be personal accountability for them in damages paid out of their own pockets or property seized as compensation, not just a fat check written out by insurance.

This is about 20 miles away from me, you could say a "suburb" to the "big city" but Missouri style.. I have heard "OH, Republic schools system is really good"! This happened awhile ago, and it is just now getting attention.. I am still confused on how it got this far?? There is no way in HELL, I would allow my daughter to go back to school there..!! And I dont know how the un-officials sleep at nite?! This poor girl has been raped twice on school grounds??!! How will she ever make it thru this? :(

I hope Mom and daughter take these shitbags for every penny in the school's coffers! I'm sorry, but I don't care if it bankrupts the school district in this case. How dare they suspend her for "disrespectful conduct" and "public display of affection" - she was RAPED! TWICE!! They broke the law TWICE! They claim it was the girl's fault for not protecting herself - busllshit! This minor was in their care, it is their responsibility to ensure each and every child on the campus is safe and secure. Honestly, if my child were enrolled there, I'd be pulling her or him out immediately! I'm so pissed I can't think straight.

I hate law suits and I feel they are part of reason for the decline of America. HOWEVER, this a rare case where I think they should be awarded a large sum of money as well as an kiss ass apology to this little girl and her mom!

You know what... I was in "special ed" in Middle school. Let me tell you, if there was a problem reguarding inapropriate behaviors such as the ones in the story mentioned, you bet your ass, the school and teachers will go through fire and flames to protect, and help the victim, even if she/he started it. There prob is more to the story...

What a bunch of ass covering assholes. I am wondering if they are going to try to blame the mom somehow--saying she should have not sent her daughter back to school with this guy or something equally asinine. Thank God the mom got that rape test done; at least the rapist was punished.

Absolutely horrible. That poor girl, and that creepy kid rapist who's going to get away with it. Whats almost as bad is that two of the people she reported this to are women themselves. I hope everyone in their neighborhood is doing all the can to make these 4 administrators miserable.

This is one suit that I personally don't find "frivilous" and there are many suits that are. But not this one. I think they have a case. How can they claim one thing, and then do the other? They know they are assholes....and just who is this boy the school is protecting? I can't believe they made that child write a note to her rapist. They should all have to fucking write notes on why thye should have their asses fired....Make 'em write on the chalkboard 1,000 times. I suck at my job, I am a peice of shit...I suck at my job.....I defend rapists.

poor child. how horrible to have the guts to stand up for yourself and tell the truth only to be called a liar and suspended. and then to have to come back and face her attacker again! they should all be put in jail for allowing this to happen.

This can't be true, really? Can a school be that callous? Its just unbelievable. Because if it's true, everyone involed should be terminated, fined, and labeled with a tatoo on their forehead that says 'douchbag'.

WTF kind of school is?? Are their lawyers that fuckig stupid that they aren't familiar with Title 9 and decide to blame the victim.. They better fucking read the law, because I don't think that is going to fly in court, in fact it will probably piss the judge off!!!! I hope this school gets shut down, all of these defendants involved should never be allowed around children again including their own if they have any!!!

There's a post on the Protest Event FB page that the prosecutor's office is refusing to press charges against the school officials who failed to report either rapes.Not sure how that decision was made. I haven't found an article yet to support that claim, but if it is true I question the ability of that office to carry out it's job in any other criminal cases.

I've been wondering the same thing - who is this boy? Is he a top athlete or one of the school member's kid or related to LE or a political figure.... or is the school that archaic. Sounds like the Tina Anderson case where the church reverend made her apologize to her rapists. Poor girl had to go through the trial & he was convicted - now his defense is asking for a new trial.... enough is enough! Was kinda hoping his new home in prison would be kind enough to offer him a new trial, jury of his peers and punish him *properly*.

I'm beginning to thing the school's lawyers may have received their diplomas from a fly-by-night online law school and possibly paid someone to take their bar exams for them. Their argument is so flimsy a feather would blow it apart upon touch.

Maybe it is just that they are assholish all together, but when schools take these type of approaches to a potential rape victim, even making HER WRITE AN APOLOGY TO HIM? To me that is an improper course of action, not to mention everything the school did after, it is insane. But I got off track, yes it would be interesting to know just who the hell this kid is.

Yea, I know exactly what your sayin.! I am still unable to wrap my head around this story.. Its just impossible for me to understand the mothers thought process, or the lack of.. and the school?? It seems to me that they are, obviously denying the fact that they are at fault as well.. Wonder what they would do, if it happened to one of their children?

Without a doubt - assholish sums it up :) I don't care what it comes down to - political shit is involved.... how in this day & age a young girl could be raped in a US school and treated negatively to this (or any!) extent (w/o it being a cult) is appalling...no excuses. NO EXCUSES. OWN UP, PAY UP AND GET THE F** OUT!